2020 EDUCATION MAGAZINE

2020 Education Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS FEBRUARY 20, 2020 Page 19 Students gain mental acuity at Hart-Em Chess Club V olleyball, basketball and… CHESS? Hartsburg-Emden Junior High and High School has a new and popular sport: the chess club, instigated by teacher Kent Hieronymous. In this school of just over 100 students, Hieronymous has over 20 students involved. The high school group includes a few seniors, juniors and sophomores and many freshmen. Spanish teacher Hieronymous noted that this new sport has involved both boys and girls, although this new crop has a female majority. By Angela Reiners Hieronymous has been coaching chess clubs since 1984, a 35 year history of leading groups at Atlanta Junior High School, Olympia Middle School, Olympia High School and now Hartsburg-Emden. These past teams did well in competitions, with Atlanta Junior High once placing fifth in the state and Olympia placing third. As Hieronymous works with this new group, the students at Hartsburg Emden are already showing great promise even in their first year: the Junior High Chess Club is headed to the state competition February 28th and 29th. Continued p